All The Wild Horses

It is the year of the fire horse (Kong Hei Fat Choi to those of you celebrating the lunar new year!): a once-in-60-year occurrence – and traditional Chinese thinking tells us we can expect a year of energy, turbulence and volatility ahead. And you don’t have to be a student of economics or financial modelling to know that this sort of dynamism will bring with it bucket loads of opportunity and challenge for both individuals and organisations around the globe.

Anticipating these changes, assessing the risks, putting in place mitigation and capitalising on the potential upsides are cornerstone skills of the modern communications practitioner. Far from engendering fear, the very best communicators rise to the occasion in volatility, acting as vital tillers, forecasters and skilled confidantes.

And at Taylor Birchwood, we know, as boards grapple with reputations, engagement and growth they are increasingly seeking out these highly experienced and commercial practitioners to navigate a complex world. Testament to this was that there were more corporate affairs, communications and reputation professionals at the World Economic Forum this year than ever before – guiding, advising, listening, shaping….

So, as the horse gallops into 2026, what are the themes shaping the communications industry?

• AI is, of course, the talk of the town (not just AI actually …digital content creation, cyber security and tech in general). How to use, how not to use. Who is doing it well? Will it result in jobs going, or will it just result in jobs changing? How do you get employees upskilled? Agencies are telling us about how they are using AI to produce ever better insight and context; and in-house executives are talking about how they are leveraging the power of AI to monitor, track and quantify – some interestingly have shared that their boards are very much behind the curve on this, and that they are playing a key role alongside their CTOs and HRDs in driving the AI agenda – for sure, the role of the seasoned communicator continues to morph. Amid all this uncertainty, what we do know is that wherever you are on AI, it is here to stay: so you need to get on the bus.
• Business performance, not business personality, seems to be the 2026 mantra: this has significant implications for communications executives on lots of levels:  CCOs and Corporate Affairs Directors need to be financially literate and business focused – they need an eye on the numbers and the headlines – the very best at c-suite level have earned their seat by being rounded executives, not just functional experts; CCOs will also need to increasingly think about what communications might look like without the big personality CEOs that many have got used to – as performance elbows out personality, how is reputation shaped without a very visible conductor?
• Politics and politicians have become a primary business stakeholder: of course those in regulated industries will tell you that it was always thus: but something fundamental has changed – no longer an afterthought, or even (shh..) an annoyance, but a critical and vital part of business planning and strategy – the political landscape should now be firmly embedded into board thinking. What does this mean for corporate affairs? Well – if you don’t have a government/ public affairs function you need one: and if yours is – well – a bit old and woolly – you are going to need a better one.
• The greatest skill of the very best communicators remains resiliency – the constant ability to adapt and flex as the landscape around them changes. Gliding effortlessly through the quagmire, communications leaders appear to embrace change, crisis and ambiguity with clarity and authority. We see their influence, leverage, and success as being increasingly determined not just by hard skills, but by lightness of touch, agility, and a sense of perspective.

Whether 2026 ends up being more stallion or more donkey,  I am certain that exceptional communication has never been more critical to organisational success. Chameleons of the corporate world, the best communicators today need to be strategists, whisperers, forecasters, empaths, innovators, motivators, tacticians, diplomats – calm under pressure and very, very capable.

This post was authored by Tori Cowley, Chair at Taylor Birchwood, in February 2026.